ROAD  COST 


ACCOUNTING  PLAN 


SOLANO  COUNTY 


Reprinted  from  Association  Report  Numb 
Report  on  Solano  County, 
California 


California    Taxpayers'    Association 

775  Subway  Terminal  Bldg. 

Los  Angeles,  Calif. 


ROAD  COST 
ACCOUNTING  PLAN 

for 
SOLANO  COUNTY 


Reprinted  from  Association  Report  Number  22 

Report  on  Solano  County, 

California 


California  Taxpayers'    Association 

775   Subway  Terminal  Bldg. 
Los   Angeles,   Calif. 


PAGE  2 


ROAD  COST  ACCOUNTING  PLAN  FOR  SOLANO  COUNTY 


Road  Cost  Accounting  Plan  for  Solano  County 


There  are  three  officials  who  are  affected  by  the 
proposed  plan :  (1)  Auditor,  (2)  Surveyor,  (3) 
Cost  Accountant.  The  Board  of  Supervisors  has 
recently  employed  a  cost  accountant  to  determine 
road  costs,  and  it  is  this  official  who  will  do  much 
of  the  work.  At  present  he  is  working  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Surveyor,  but  it  is  more  de- 
sirable to  combine  all  accounting  work  under 
one  department.  Inasmuch  as  the  Auditor  has 
under  his  control  all  general  county  financial  rec- 
ords, it  is  recommended  that  the  work  of  cost 
accounting  for  the  Board  of  Supervisors  be  done 
under  his  supervision. 

The  proposed  plan  covers  two  objects:  (1) 
To  record  financial  transactions  and  thereby  con- 
trol budget  appropriations;  (2)  to  determine 
costs  of  doing  road  and  bridge  work.  In  order  to 
show  both  financial  transactions  and  costs,  two 
related  sets  of  forms  are  proposed.  The  first  gives 
the  necessary  information  for  the  auditor's  rec- 
ords, while  the  second  gives  cost  data.  The  sec- 
ond set  cannot  be  made  except  from  information 
given  in  the  first. 

The  Work  of  the  Auditor 

The  auditor  is  primarily  interested  in  the  first 
object  given  above,  as  it  is  one  of  the  duties  that 
regularly  fall  to  his  office.  In  addition,  the  rec- 
ords so  kept  will  be  needed  in  the  preparation 
of  his  monthly  statements  showing  the  status  of 
each  budget  appropriation,  as  required  in  the 
state  budget  law. 

The  records  that  are  necessary  for  Object  1 , 
above,  are  the  only  ones  that  will  show  segre- 
gated highway  expenditures  unless  duplicate 
books  are  kept  and  this  is  not  necessary.  These 
records  take  the  place  of  the  auditor's  present 
appropriation  and  expenditure  ledger  for  high- 
ways, which  could  then  be  dispensed  with. 

The  Auditor  is  not  primarily  interested  in  the 
second  object  of  the  proposed  accounting  plan. 
/.  e.,  determination  of  road  costs.  However,  these 
costs  are  more  readily  obtained  from  the  basic 
data  recorded  by  the  Auditor  in  his  books  than 
from  any  other  source.  Only  two  changes  in  the 
Auditor's  present  method  of  keeping  accounts 
are  suggested.  The  first  concerns  a  classification 
or  codification  of  the  warrants,  which  is  to  be 
done  by  the  cost  accountant  before  the  Auditor 
posts  them  to  his  books.  The  second  is  a  substi- 
tution of  several  new  headings,  or  expenditure 
titles,  on  the  ledger  sheet  for  road  accounts. 

It  is  of  prime  importance  that  the  accounting 
for  capital  outlay  expenditures  be  completely 
separated  from  maintenance  expenditures.  The 
proposed  accounting  plan  provides  for  this 
separation. 

Codification — The  Auditor  should  give  all 
warrants  for  roads,  bridges  and  ferries  to  the 
Cost  Accountant  after  they  have  been  returned 
from  the  Treasurer  in  Step  8,  as  shown  in  Dia- 
gram A.  The  cost  accountant  will  classify  them 
as  will  be  explained  laici  on.  Each  warrant 


should  be  previously  marked  by  the  auditor  to 
show  the  fund  from  which  it  was  paid.  Simi- 
larly, the  road  district  number  and  the  number 
of  the  road  for  which  the  expenditure  was  made 
should  be  placed  on  all  warrants  by  the  person 
who  makes  out  the  original  claim.  The  auditor 
can  help  by  insisting  that  all  claims  show  each 
item  of  this  information  before  approving  them 
for  payment. 

Posting  to  the  Ledger — The  warrants  are  ready 
for  posting  to  Form  1  after  the  cost  accountant 
has  codified  or  classified  each  of  them.  Posting 
can  be  done  in  the  usual  manner  by  the  auditor 
or  his  assistants. 

Form   1   shows  the  type  of  ledger  sheet  needed 
by   the   auditor   on    which   financial    transactions 

DIAGRAM  A 


LIHE  OF  TRAVEL  OF  CLAIMS  AIJD  WARRANTS 

FOR  ROADS,  BRIDGES  AND  PERRIES 

SOLANO  COUNTY 


*•  Auditor 

Signs  Claim  t;o  Make  It  A  Warrant 
Post  to  (1)  Warrant  Register 

(2)  Fund  and  Appropriation 
Control  Ledger 


jCodifies  or  Classifies  Expenditures 


Auditor 


Posts  to  Highway  Expenditure  Ledger 
(Form  1  in  Cost  Accounting  Outline) 


[Filed  in  Auditor's  vaults 

Dotted  line  -  new  work  or  a  new  line  of  travel 
imposed  by  the  proposed  cost  ac- 
counting plan. 

Solid  line  -   line  of  travel  as  now  In  existence 


ROAD  COST  ACCOUNTING  PLAN  I:OR  SOLANO  COUNTY 


PAGE  3 


(except  capital  outlay  items)  can  be  recorded 
and  by  which  budgetary  control  can  be  accom- 
plished. 


The  records  of  each  road  district  (except  for 
capital  outlay  items)  will  comprise  three  ledger 
sheets  of  I:orm  1 ,  each  being  for  a  different  fund. 


FORK  1 

ALL  ROAD,    BRIDGE   AND  FERRY  EXHUJDirURE  AND   APPHOPRLATIOH    ITE1B 

30LANO  COUHTY 

CALIFORNIA 

Fund* 

Road   District 
Maintenance" 
Month 

•o. 

J  19 

Date 

Items 

Warrant 
No. 

Code 
No. 

EXffiKDITtRE  AND  APPROPRIATIOH    ITEUS 

Total 
Expend- 
itures 

Salaries 
and 
Wages 

Materials   and  Supplies 

Service  and  Expense 

Gasoline 
Fuel  Oil 
Lubri- 
cants 

Road 
Oil, 

Aaphaltj 
Bitumer 

Rock 

3ravel 
Sand 

Equip- 
ment 
Hire 

Miscel- 
laneous 
Sup- 
plies 

Repair! 
to 
Machin- 
ery 
and 
Equip— 
meet 

Replace- 
Kent  3  of 
Uachin- 
ery  and 
Equip- 
ment 

Freight 
Rent, 
Insur- 
ance, 

Overheat 
Items, 
Etc. 

Code   10 

Code  21 

Code  22 

lode  25 

Code  23 

Code 
23 
24 

Code  33 

Code  34 

Code  31 
32 
35 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

26 
?7 

36 

(14) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

(10) 

(U) 

(12) 

(13) 

Judget 
Appropriation 

Cumulative  Total 

Sxpenditures    to 
Pirst  of  Month 

Balance  Available 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

on  First  of  Month 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

Items    of    Expendi- 
tures during  cur- 
rent month 

TOTAL 

EXPENDITURES 

CURRHCT 

MONTH 

*   Insert  the  word   "General",    "Road  District"   or   "Good   Roads",   as   Uie   case  may  be. 

**   Insert   the  words   "Maintenance",   or   "Capital  Outlay  by  Force  Account",    as  ti'.e    case  may  be. 

PAGE  4 


ROAD  COST  ACCOUNTING  PLAN  FOR  SOLANO  COUNTY 


Provision  is  made  in  Form  1  to  obtain  monthly 
cumulative  expenditures  and  balances  available 
from  each  appropriation  item.  Each  column  can 
represent  an  appropriation  item  as  given  in  the 
county  budget. 

Capital  Outlay  Expenditures — Capital  Out- 
lay expenditures  are  to  be  recorded  somewhat  dif- 
ferently than  those  for  maintenance.  If  the  capi- 
tal expenditure  is  on  force  account,  then  Form 


ent  will  recommend  practical  application  of  the 
unit  costs  found  by  the  cost  accountant. 

Road,  Bridge  and  Ferry  Numbers — Each  road 
and  bridge  should  be  renumbered  because  the 
present  numbers  arc  limited  in  their  usefulness. 
A  simple,  flexible  numbering  scheme  is  shown  on 
the  accompanying  map.  It  is  decimal  in  form, 
allowing  for  expansion  as  additional  roads  and 
bridges  are  built.  A  road  can  easily  be  found  on 


FORM  2 

CAPITAL  OUTLAY  EXPENDITURES 
Solano  County 


Road  District  No.. 


Date 


Title  and  Description  of  Item  Purchased  and  Name  of  Vendor 


I-und 


Cost  in 
Dollars 


1  can  be  used  with  an  appropriate  title  given  to 
it.  One  sheet  should  be  used  for  each  construc- 
tion project  in  each  district.  The  information 
given  will  satisfy  the  Day  Labor  Publicity  Law* 
as  far  as  determination  of  costs  of  work  done  by 
the  county  is  concerned. 

Entries  made  on  Form  2  for  payments  on 
contract  work  and  on  new  machinery,  as  capital 
outlay  expenditures,  are  all  that  will  be  needed. 
Separate  books  are  not  necessary. 

The  County  Surveyor 

The  chief  responsibility  of  the  surveyor  in  the 
proposed  cost  accounting  system  is  to  designate 
or  name  properly  the  roads,  bridges,  and  ferries 
and  to  aid  in  the  allocation  or  distribution  of 
indirect  expenditures  found  by  the  cost  account- 
ant. In  addition,  the  surveyor  or  the  superintend - 

*  Act  6421  of  General  Laws,  as  amended 


the  map  if  its  number  is  known,  as  they  are 
numbered  in  sequence. 

An  example  of  a  complete  road  number  can 
be  given  for  the  road  running  south  from  Rio 
Vista.  The  main  road  number  is  340.0.  The 
zero  to  the  right  of  the  decimal  point  indicates 
that  the  road  is  not  a  branch  of  road  number  340 
but  is  the  main  road  itself.  The  branch  from  the 
main  road  bears  the  number  340.11.  The 
northerly  section  of  the  main  road  is  gravel  and 
can  be  shown  by  the  number  340.01.  The  sec- 
ond section  is  oil  macadam  and  can  be  shown  as 
number  340.02. 

The  road  numbers  on  the  map  do  not  show 
this  last  division  of  a  complete  number.  It  is 
believed  best  to  let  the  surveyor  complete  the 
numbers  as  he  is  probably  the  better  informed 
concerning  the  various  types  of  surfaces. 

Bridge  numbers  can  be  built  up  in  two  part*;, 
the  first  being  the  main  number  of  the  road  on 


ROAD  COST  ACCOUNTING  PLAN  FOR  SOLANO  COUNTY 


PAGE  5 


which  the  bridge  is  located,  and  the  second  being 
the  number  of  the  bridge  on  that  road,  e.  g., 
the  two  bridges  on  road  No.  70.0  can  be  called 
No.  70.0/1  and  No.  70.0/2. 

A  cross  ("x")  marks  the  location  of  bridges 
on  the  map.  Because  of  lack  of  space  they  are  not 
numbered.  The  sequence  of  bridge  numbers  on 
the  map  is  from  top  to  bottom  and  from  left  to 
right,  the  same  as  in  reading  a  printed  page.  In 
case  of  diagonal  roads,  the  numbers  start  at  the 
upper  end.  This  system  should  be  followed  to 
identify  the  bridges  found  on  the  map  with  those 
listed  in  Table  105. 

Ferries  can  be  simply  designated  as  Fl ,  F3,  etc. 

The  Work  of  the  Cost  Accountant 

All  warrants  for  road  expenditures  are  to  be 
given  to  the  cost  accountant  for  classifying  or  cod- 
ifying before  they  are  posted  to  the  auditor's 
books  described  as  Form  1.  After  codifying  and 
after  the  auditor  has  posted  each  to  Form  1,  then 
the  cost  accountant  is  to  classify  and  segregate  fur- 
ther the  expenditure  items  as  found  on  Form  1. 
This  last  segregation  is  to  be  shown  on  Forms  3 
and  4.  Mileages  of  roads  according  to  their  type  of 
surface  will  also  be  entered  on  these  two  forms, 
and  the  per  mile  costs  obtained  therefrom. 

The  above  summary  of  the  cost  accountant's 
work  applies  to  maintenance  expenditures.  A  dif- 
ferent set  of  records  are  to  be  kept  for  capital  out- 
lay expenditures  in  order  that  they  may  be  com- 
pletely separated  from  maintenance  expenditures. 

The  monthly  totals  in  the  cost  accountant's 
book,  for  each  district,  of  all  posted  items  should 
agree  with  the  same  totals  in  the  auditor's  books. 
The  records  of  the  auditor  show  the  financial 
transactions  for  receipts  and  expenditures  accord- 
ing to  funds,  whereas  the  books  of  the  cost  ac- 
countant arc  for  determining  costs  of  roads  anu 
bridges,  without  regard  to  the  funds  from  which 
money  was  obtained. 

Code  Numbers — The  complete  code  number  10 
be  put  on  each  claim,  before  posting  to  Form  1, 
is  made  up  of  three  parts,  each  one  of  which  is  a 
code  number  in  itself.  The  following  diagram 
shows  the  items  to  be  coded  and  the  person  who 
is  to  do  each  of  the  parts. 


Code  Number 
Made  by 


Item  to 
be  Coded 


Code 

Number 


Foreman, 
Supervisor 


Road,  bridge 
or  ferry 


Cost  Accountant 


Hxpenditure 
Classification 


Cost  Accountant 


Type  of  road 
or  bridge 


The  workmen  in  the  field  (foremen,  super 
visors,  etc.)  should  enter  upon  the  claim  the  first 
part  of  a  complete  code  number  which  is  the 
number  of  the  road  or  bridge  where  work  was 
done  or  where  materials  were  used.  The  cost  ac- 
countant is  not  to  do  this  but  must  be  insistent 
that  the  men  in  the  field  do  it.  They  arc  the  only 
persons  who  have  this  knowledge. 

The  first  step  in  cost  determination  is  lor  the 
cost  accountant  to  determine  the  second  part  of 


the  complete  code  number  according  to  the  fol- 
lowing object  expenditure  classification. 

Code 

Number  Object  of  Expenditure 

10          LABOR  AND  WAGES 
20          MATERIALS  AND  SUPPLIES 

21  Gasoline,  fuel  oil,  lubricants 

22  Road  oil,  asphalt,  bitumen 

23  Cement  and  lime 

24  Culverts  and  pipe 

25  Rock,  gravel,  sand,  slag 

26  Lumber 

27  Miscellaneous      materials       (hardware, 
powder,   water,   small   tools,  etc.) 

28  Equipment  hire  (take  out  any  labor  and 
put  in  No.   10) 

28.1  Teams 

28.2  Trucks 

28.3  Equipment  and  machinery 
30          SERVICE  AND  EXPENSE 

31  Freight,    express,    mileage,    transporta- 
tion, demurrage 

32  Rents  and  storage 

33  Repairs  and   upkeep  of  machinery  and 
equipment 

34  Replacement   of   machinery   and  equip- 
ment 

35  Damage   claims,    insurance    (fire,    theft, 
liability) 

36  Overhead  and  office  expense 
50          CAPITAL  OUTLAY 

5  1    Force  account 

52  Contract  items 

53  Real  estate  and  rights  of  way 

54  Buildings  (not  repairs) 

55  Machinery  and  equipment   (not  replace- 
ments) 

The  information  given  on  a  warrant  should  be 
sufficient  for  determination  of  the  classification  of 
the  expenditure.  An  example  of  applying  ex- 
penditure code  numbers  to  warrants  is  given  as 
follows : 

Code  No. 
War-   Expend. 

rant     Ctassifi-  Example  of  Items 

No.      cation  Found  Upon  Warrants 

100      10       2       days  labor  grading  shoul - 

dersof  road  No.  65.0   $    12.00 
10        \\i  days     labor     repairing 

bridge  No.  70.0/1  9.00 

10       2  \  >   days  labor  hauling  rock, 

road  No.    120  15.00 


Total  to  John  Doe  ,   $    36.00 
124      21       500  gal.   gasoline.  80.00 

128  100  tons  rock  @  SI. 80  del.    200.00 

25       (75  tns.  rd.      130.0-S150) 
25       (25   tns  rd.        25.0-$    50) 
141      27       1       doz.  shovels  _  24.00 

145  4       days  truck  and  driver. 

road  No.  60.0  60.00 

28.2       (truck    @    S10  S40) 

10          (driver   @   $    5 $20) 

153      26       200ft.  b.  m.  lumber,  bridge 

80.0/1    @  7c  14.00 

150  10  3  days  surveying  road  No. 
215  and  setting  stakes 
@  $8.00 24.00 


PAGE  6 


ROAD  COST  ACCOUNTING  PLAN  FOR  SOLANO  COUNTY 


159 
160 


10 


Example  Continued 

Cost  accounting  clerk— sal'y  $100.00 

Repairs  to  road  roller  by 
blacksmith 

4  bolts  $    .25 

1  bar    2.00 

3  rings  .50 

4  hrs.  @  $1.50   6.00 


170 


171      52 


Total  $  8.75 

(23)  100  sacks  cement  to 

build  new   bridge  No. 

75.0/3  @  90c 90.00 

Third  payment  on  contract 

paving roadNo.  185    $2,050.00 


Expenditures  for  salaries  and  wages  will  bear 
code  No.  1  0  as  shown  on  warrant  No.  1  00  above. 
The  warrant  should  show  the  length  of  time  and 
the  road  or  bridge  upon  which  work  was  done 
in  order  to  apportion  the  expense  accordingly. 

Where  supplies  are  used  on  more  than  one 
road,  the  foreman  or  supervisor  must  show  the 
ratio  for  prorating  the  amounts  to  each  road  as 
shown  on  Warrant  No.  128  above.  Where  pos- 
sible, all  labor  items  should  be  put  into  account 
No.  10  as  shown  on  Warrant  No.  145.  How- 
ever, outside  labor  to  repair  trucks  and  machinery 
should  be  charged  to  the  same  expenditure  class 
as  the  item  itself,  just  as  in  the  case  of  warrant 
No.  160. 

Warrant  No.   170,  in  the  above  example,  pre- 


Form  3. 

DIRECT 
•ROAD  UAINTEliAKCE  COSTS 
(All  Funds) 

SOLAKO  COUNTY 
CALIFORNIA 

Road  District  No. 

Direct  Costs 
Type  f 

tiles   of   this    type 
Year 

* 

Objects   of 

Expenditures 

Labor 

and 
Wages 

Road  Oil 
Asphalt 
and 

Bitumen 

Rock 
Gravel 
Sand 

Equip- 
ment 
Hire 

Total 
Direct 
Cost 

Indirect 
Cost 
from 
Form  4 

Grand 
Total 

1 

Cost 
Per 
liile 

Code  No. 

10 

22 

25** 
26** 

28 

Total  Monthly 
Direct  Costs 
from  Form  1. 

19  

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

19  

January 

February 

liarch 

April 

i 

Lay 

June 

TOTALS  FOR  YEAR 

Si  Insert  the  words    "hard   (surfaced)   roads,"    "dirt,"   "gravel"   or   "soft   (unsurfaced)    roads", 
"long-lived     or  short-lived     bridges",  as    the  case  may  be* 

*  Insert  the  word   "road",    "bridge"   or   "ferry",   as   the   case  nay  be. 

**  If  this  sheet  is    for  bridges,    change   item   to    lumber    (code   26)   and   charge  any  gravel  coots 
to  Indirect  Sheet,   Form  4. 

^  Insert  the  word   "area"   if   shee  t  is  for  bridges. 

IJI  Insert   the  words   "cost  per   sq.  ft."  if  sheet  is   for  bridges. 

ROAD  COST  ACCOUNTING  PLAN  FOR  SOLANO  COUNTY 


PAGE  7 


sents  a  double  classification  arising  oui  of  a  capi 
tal  outlay  improvement  with  the  work  being  done 
by  the  county's  own  labor  and  materials  (force 
account).  Items  in  this  account  should  be  the 
exception  rather  than  the  rule  for  most  capital 
improvements  will  be  done  by  contract.  The 
costs  of  work  done  by  force  account  should  be 
accurately  determined  to  compare  with  original 
bids. 

The  items  given   in   the  above  examples  may 
be  found  singly  upon  the  warrants  or  may  come 


through  as  a  number  of  items  upon  one  warrant. 
In  the  latter  case,  each  expenditure  item  is  to  be 
classified  so  that  it  can  be  charged  against  the 
proper  account. 

The  second  step  in  cost  determination  is  to 
complete  the  code  number  upon  the  warrant. 
This  code  number  is  to  show  the  type  of  road  or 
bridge  on  which  the  expenditure  was  made.  The 
purpose  of  this  classification  is  to  provide  for 
segregating  costs  of  maintaining  different  types 
of  roads  and  bridges. 


Fora  4* 

INDIRECT 

ROAD  MAINTENANCE  C03TS                                Road  District  Ho. 

(All  Funds) 

Indirect  Coats 

SOLANO  COUNTY 
CALIFORNIA                                            Year 

Repairs 

Replace- 

Gasoline 

to 

ments  of 

Freight 

Objects  of 
Expenditures 

Fuel  Oil 
Lubri- 

Miscel- 
laneous 

Machinery 
and 

machinery 
and 

Insurance 
Overlie  ad 

Total 
Indirect 

cants 

Supplies 

Equipment 

Equipment 

Items 

Cost 

Code  No. 

21 

23 

33 

34 

31 

24 

32 

25« 

35 

26*-* 

36 

27 

Total  Monthly 

Indirect  Costs 

from  Form  1. 

19  

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

Decenber 

19  

January 

February 

uarch 

April 

Kay 

June 

TOTALS  FOR  ¥EAR 

w 

•-  Distribution  of  total  cost  at  end  of  year  to  be  transferred  to  Form  3,  as  follows: 

ROADS  %  of  total.     BRIDGES        %  of  total      FERRIES         £  nf  totfll. 

Amount  $                Amount  $                  Amount  $ 

Hard    $             LonA-lived  «              Ferry  No.  1  $ 

Gravel  £             Short-lived  $               Ferry  No.  2  $ 

Dirt    $                                      etB. 

'  All  bridge  lumber  items  should  be  charged  directly  to  bridge  account  (Form  3)  and  any 
gravel  (code  25)  purchases  for  bridges  should  be  charged  to  Miscellaneous  Supplies  on 
Form  4. 

PAGE  8 


ROAD  COST  ACCOUNTING  PLAN  FOR  SOLANO  COUNTY 


Code  numbers  for  road  types  are  as  follows: 
T 1 0  HARD  OR  SURFACED  ROADS. 

Til    Asphaltic  concrete 

T12   Cement  concrete 

Tl  3    Oil  macadam 

T14   to   T19   Other  types  of  hard  surfaces 
T20  SOFT  OR  UNSURFACED  ROADS 

T21    Gravel 

T22   Dirt 

T23    to   T29  Other  unsurfaced  types 
Code  numbers  for  bridges  are  as  follows: 
T50  LONG  LIVED  BRIDGES 

T5  1   Concrete  slab 

T52   Concrete  arch 

T53   Steel  Truss 

T54   to  T59   Other  types  of  long  lived 

bridges 
T60  SHORT  LIVED  BRIDGES 

T6  1    Wood  platform  or  plank 

T62   Wood  pier 

T63   Wood  truss 

T64   to  T69   Other  types  of  short  lived 

bridges 

The  surveyor  is  to  prepare  sufficient  data  for 
the  accountant  to  know  the  type  of  surface  of 
each  road,  as  well  as  the  type  of  each  bridge. 

Costs — After  the  three  code  numbers  are  en- 
tered on  each  warrant,  they  are  then  to  be  re- 
turned to  the  auditor  for  posting,  as  explained 
above. 

When  the  auditor  has  completed  posting  all 
the  warrants,  then  the  cost  accountant  can  make 
the  final  analysis  from  the  auditor's  books  to 
determine  unit  costs  for  maintenance.  Further 
reference  to  the  warrants  should  not  be  necessary. 
This  final  analysis  can  be  made  on  Forms  3  and  4. 

Costs  for  maintenance  are  to  be  determined  in 
each  district  for  groups  of  roads  of  the  same  type 
on  a  per  mile  basis,  «'.  e.,  the  unit  costs  for  each 
type  of  road  is  to  be  determined.  Bridge  costs  will 
be  obtained  on  a  square  foot  basis,  as  well  as  on 
a  type  basis. 

The  entries  on  Forms  3  and  4  are  merely  totals 
of  expenditures  for  maintenance  only,  taken  from 
Form  1,  either  under  the  same  classification  or 
under  an  expanded  classification,  as  determined 
by  the  surveyor.  Expenditures  given  in  Columns 
5,  7,  8  and  9  of  Form  1  can  be  charged  directly 
to  the  road  or  roads  whereon  work  was  done. 
These  are  direct  costs  and  can  be  transferred  to 


Form  3.  On  the  other  hand,  expenditures  given 
in  Columns  6,  10,  11,  12  and  1  3  of  Form  1  will 
be  allocated  to  the  various  roads  and  bridges  only 
with  difficulty.  These  are  indirect  costs,  and  ac- 
curate distribution  of  them  for  any  one  month 
will  hardly  be  possible,  unless  much  time  and 
thought  is  given  to  it.  This,  though  interesting, 
is  not  necessary  in  a  county  with  small  total 
expenditures  as  in  Solano.  However,  at  the  end 
of  the  year,  such  items  should  be  prorated  to  each 
of  the  road  and  bridge  types.  This  proration  is 
necessarily  arbitrary,  but  should  be  based  on 
the  best  information  and  judgment  of  those  who 
have  been  in  close  touch  with  the  work.  Form  4 
has  been  devised  to  aid  in  recording  and  pro- 
rating the  indirect  costs  as  transferred  from  Form 
1.  It  is  to  be  noted  in  using  Forms  3  and  4  that 
they  merely  summarize  and  collect  the  total 
monthly  expenditure  items  from  Form  1.  The 
final  answers  and  data  from  Form  3  are  the  unit 
costs  of  maintenance  work  that  are  needed  by 
road  officials. 

Five  sheets  of  Form  3  will  be  needed  for  the 
cost  accounts  of  each  road  district.  They  will  be 
used  as  follows: 

1  sheet  for  all  hard  (surfaced)   roads 

1  sheet  for  all  dirt  (unsurfaced)   roads 

1  sheet  for  all  gravel  (unsurfaced)  roads 

1  sheet  for  all  long-lived  bridges 

1  sheet  for  all  short-lived  bridges 

One  additional  sheet  will  be  needed  for  the 
Fifth  District  for  recording  costs  of  ferries.  Only 
one  sheet  of  Form  4  will  be  needed  in  each  district. 

Capital  outlay  records  kept  by  either  the  cost 
accountant  or  the  auditor  can  be  summarized  on 
Form  2.  It  does  not  show  the  distribution  or 
objects  of  expenditures,  as  these  are  not  required 
in  keeping  records  for  capital  outlays  except  in 
the  case  of  force  accounts.  Totals  of  capital  out- 
lay expenditures  from  force  accounts,  as  deter- 
mined upon  Form  1,  should  be  transferred  to 
Form  2.  This  provides  for  a  complete  history 
of  all  capital  outlay  items  on  one  ledger  sheet. 

A  summary  of  totals  of  all  districts  from 
Forms  2,  3  and  4  is  to  be  made  at  the  end  of 
each  month  to  determine  a  total  for  the  county. 
The  collection  of  summarized  monthly  costs  will 
give  all  the  necessary  information  for  yearly  costs 
at  the  end  of  each  fiscal  year. 


